Machine gun belt tang



M. mgssuma 2,3 52 MACHINE GUN BELT TANG Filed Feb. 15, 1943 Tiqle 3% INVENTOR Patented Oct. 17, 1944 STATES PATENT @FE'EC water American Fastener Company,

Waterbury,

Comm, a corporation of Connecticut Application February 15, 1943, Serial No. 475,855

6 Claims.

This invention relates to cartridge belts for machine guns and more particularly to an improved tapered V-shaped metal tang for facilitating the insertion of a cartridge belt into a machine gun.

One object of the present invention is to provide a cartridge belt tang without the use of stitches or rivets.

Another object is to provide a cartridge belt tang of the above nature which may be attached to both ends of the cartridge belt so that either end of said belt may be fed into the machine gun.

A further object is to provide a device of the above nature which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and manipulate, compact, ornamental in appearance, and. very efiicient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view, there has been illustrated on the accompanying drawing one form in which the invention may be conveniently embodied in practice.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 represents a bottom view of the cartridge belt tang.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same, taken along the broken line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 2a is a top view of one end of the cartridge belt tang.

Figure 3 is a side view partly in section showing the final appearance of the tang, after it has been attached to a cartridge belt.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a roll of cartridge webbing as it appears with tangs applied at both ends thereof, and before the cartridges have been inserted therein.

Referring now to the drawing in which like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral l generally indicates a tapered V-shaped cartridge belt tang embodying the present invention. The small end of the tang I0 is provided with a cylindrical looped point II which is adapted to be inserted into a machine gun to facilitate the passage of the cartridges thereinto. The tang I0 is provided with a fiat top wing I2 integrally connected to said cylindrical point II and increasing in width in the direction away from said point I I.

Provision is also made of a bottom flat wing I3 which is identical in shape with the top wing I2 and is also attached integrally to the cylindrical loop point I I.

As clearly shown in Figure l, the bottom wing I3 is provided with four rectangularly-spaced rectangular apertures I4, I5, I6, and I! located adjacent to the rear end of said bottom wing I3.

In order to increase the gripping actionof the tang upon the belt webbing 22, the front edges of the front apertures I4, I6 are provided with short inwardly extending lugs M and Hi while the rear edges of the rear apertures I5 and II are provided with similar short inwardly extending lugs I5 and Il -all of said lugs I l IN, Hi Il preferably extending the full width of said apertures I l, I5, I6, II, respectively.

The bottom wing I3 is also provided at a point somewhat in advance of the apertures I4 and It with a centrally positioned stop lug It} struck up wardly out of the metal of said wing I3 and leaving an aperture I9-in said wing I3. The lug I8 and aperture I9 are preferably rectangular in shape with rounded outer edges, as clearly shown in Figure 1. The lug I8 is inclined slightly in a rearward direction and serves as an abutment for the inner end of the cartridge belt 22, when the latter is inserted into the open V-shaped tang from right to left against the lower wing I3 thereof as shown in Figure 2.

In order to lock the fiat .wings I2 and I3 of the tang I0 tightly together in frictional clamping engagement with the opposite faces of the webbing 22, as shown in Figure 3, the top wing I2 is provided with a pair of narrow depending gothic-shaped elongated prongs 20, 2| struck downwardly out of the metal of said wing I2 and leaving apertures of the same shape in said wing I 2. The prongs 20 and 2I are adapted to penetrate the cartridge webbing 22 and then pass through the forward apertures I l and It in the bottom wing I3. By means of a suitable tool, (not shown) said prongs 2B and 2| will be next bent around the partitions Mb, [6b and pushed upwardly through the rear apertures I5 and I1 and into the webbing 22, as clearly shown in Figure 3. The numerals 23 indicate a pair of cartridges which have been inserted into the webbing belt 22 prior to the insertion of the tang I0 into the machine gun (not shown).

While there has been disclosed in this specification one form in which the'invention is to be embodied, it is to be understood that this form is shown for the purpose of illustration only and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosure but may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed to be new and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent is':

1. In a tang for facilitating the insertion of the end of an elongated cartridge Webbing into a machine gun, a V-shaped metallic member having tapered top and bottom wings for embracing said webbing, said wings being connected together at their narrow ends by a cylindrical section forming a rounded point, said top wing having an inwardly-extending prong ad- J'acent the wide end thereof, said bottom wing having an aperture in alinement with said prong and a second aperture adjacent thereto, said prong being adapted to be 'forced down through said webbing and passed through said alined aperture and then be bent upwardly through said second aperture and again forced into said' webbing by means of a suitable tool. 7 7

2. In a tang for facilitating the insertion of the end of an elongated cartridge webbing into a machine gun, a V-shaped metallic member having tapered top and bottom wings for embracing said webbing, said wings being con nected together at their narrow ends by a cylindrical section forming a rounded point, said top wing having a pair of inwardly extending prongs, said bottom wing having apertures in alinement with each of said prongs, and a pair of additional apertures located adjacent said first mentioned apertures, said prongs being adapted to be forced down through said webbing and passed through said alined apertures and then be bent upwardly through said adjacent aperture and again forced into said Webbing by means of a suitable tool.

3. A tang as defined in claim 1, in which said apertures are provided with inwardly extending lugscon their opposed opposite edges to increase the gripping efiect upon said webbing.

4. The cartridge belt as defined in claim 1, in which said bottom wing is provided with an upwardly-extending stop lug to limit the inward movement of said webbing when the latter is inserted into said tang.

5. The cartridge belt tang as defined in claim 1 in which said bottom Wing is provided with a rearwardly inclined upwardly-extending stop lug, substantially rectangular in shape, to limit the inward movement of said webbing'when the latter is inserted between the Wings of said tang. r

6. The cartridge belt tang as defined in claim 1 in which said prong is gothic-shaped and is struck out of the material of said top wing.

MAX KIESSLING. 

